Fluminense Football Club

This article is about the Brazilian club from Rio de Janeiro. For the state fluminenses reside at, see Rio de Janeiro (state).

For other uses, see Fluminense (disambiguation).

Fluminense

Full name	Fluminense Football Club
Nickname(s)	Flu Fluzão Nense Tricolor Carioca (Carioca Tri-color)
Founded	July 21, 1902 (1902-07-21)
Stadium	Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (capacity: 78,838)
President	Peter Siemsen
Head coach	Abel Braga
League	Brasileirão
2012	Brasileirão, 1st
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors Third colors

Fluminense Football Club (Brazilian Portuguese: [flumiˈnẽsi ˈfu̇t-ˌbȯl ˈkləb]), commonly known Fluminense and referred to as Flu, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Laranjeiras, a bairro in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It plays in the Campeonato Carioca, the State of Rio de Janeiro's premier state league, as well as the Brasileirão, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system. Fluminense are the reigning Brazilian champions, having won the 2012 Brasileirão.

The club was founded on July 21, 1902 by the sons of Carioca aristocracy, being led by Oscar Cox, a Brazilian sportsman, in the bairro of Flamengo, a direct contrast between the aristocratic founders and the modest ground it was founded on. Cox was elected as the club's first president. Fluminense is a demonym for people who reside in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Although football is the club's original endeavor, the club is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities.

The club is one of Brazil's most successful clubs, having won the have the Brasileirão on four occasions. Fluminense has also won one Copa do Brasil. They have won the Campeonato Carioca 31 times and the Torneio Rio – São Paulo on two occasions. The club managed to perform a double in 1984 and 2012, winning both the Carioca and the Brasileirão. Fluminense have also been finalist in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Flu play their home games at the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, better known as the Maracanã, which currently holds up to 78,838 spectators. Fluminense's home kit is maroon-and-green vertical striped shirts, with white shorts, accompanied by white socks; this combination has been used since 1920. Adidas are the kit manufacturers. Fluminense holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably against Botafogo, Flamengo, and Vasco da Gama. It has contributed the fifth-most players to Brazil's national football team.

History

Oscar Cox, founder of Fluminense.

Fluminense Football Club was founded on July 21, 1902 in Rio de Janeiro by Oscar Cox, a Brazilian of English heritage. in the then aristocratic neighborhood of Laranjeiras. Fluminense was formed by sons of the elite who had come into contact with football while studying in Europe. The first official match was played against now defunct Rio FC, and ended 8-0 to Fluminense. The club's first title came in 1906, when Fluminense won the Campeonato Carioca.

Laranjeiras Stadium, the Brazilian national team's first ground.

In 1911, disagreement between Fluminense players led to the formation of Flamengo's football team. The so-called Fla-Flu derby is considered one of the biggest in the history of Brazilian football. Three years later, in Fluminense's stadium, the Brazilian national football team debuted, against touring English club Exeter City It was also there that they won their first title, in the 1919.

By 1924, Fluminense had 4,000 members, a stadium for 25,000 people, and facilities that impressed clubs in Europe. Nonetheless, Fluminense's long association with the rich tainted its history with racism. In an unfortunate event in 1914, Carlos Alberto, a mulatto playing for Fluminense, decided to cover himself in face powder to disguise the color of his skin. This ultimately led to one of the club's nicknames, pó de arroz, which is the Portuguese for 'white powder'. After 1925, Fluminense began pressuring for the professionalization of football, but it was not until the 1950s that the club started to accept black players in its squad, however, in 1945 they hired a black coach, Gentil Cardoso.

The following years saw an expansion of the club's hegemony in Rio. Fluminense would remain unsurpassed in terms of state championships until 2009. International acclaim came in 1949 with the awarding of the Olympic Cup, and was further fostered in 1952 with Fluminense's first intercontinental honor, the Copa Rio. The club established itself regionally with victory in two Torneio Rio-São Paulo cups in 1957 and 1960. National honors followed in 1970, 1984, 2010 and 2012 with Taça de Prata and Série A cups, respectively., also taking the Cup in Brazil in 2007.

From the 1950s, with the creation of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the forerunner of what eventually would become the national championship, Fluminense established itself regionally by winning the tournament title in the years of 1957 and 1960.

From the 1960s, the first national championships began to be played in Brazil. Fluminense's first national title came in 1970, in that time, Brazil had the best players in world football, and all of them played in Brazilians clubs. Although not counted in its squad with the main players of the season in Brazil, Fluminense won the Brazilian champion surpassing the great strengths of the time in Santos, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro.

In the 1970s, Fluminense signed up several famous players like Roberto Rivellino. This time, called as "maquina tricolor", it won the state championship in the years of 1975 and 1976. In the national championship, Fluminense lost in the semifinal matches to Internacional in 1975 and Corinthians in 1976.

Fluminense again became the Brazilian champion in 1984. This time, they won the state Championship in the years of 1983, 1984 and 1985 with players like Romerito, Ricardo Gomes, Deley, and the "Casal Vinte": Assis and Washington.

At the end of the 1980s, Copa do Brasil was created, inspired by the Cups tournament played in European countries. Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil for the first time in 1992, losing the final match to Internacional de Porto Alegre.

Stained glass windows in Fluminense's headquarters

A disastrous campaign led to the club's relegation from Série A in 1996. A set of off-field political maneuvers, however, allowed Fluminense to remain in Brazil's top domestic league, only to be relegated the next year. Completely out of control, the club was relegated from Série B to Série C in 1998. In 1999, Fluminense won the Série C championship and was to be promoted to Série B when it was invited to take part in Copa João Havelange, a championship that replaced the traditional Série A in 2000. In 2001, it was decided that all clubs which took part in Copa João Havelange's so-called Blue Group should be kept in Série A, and so Fluminense Football Club found its way back to the top, where it has been ever since.

In 2002, 2005 and 2012, Fluminense won again the Campeonato Carioca. In 2005 Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil again, having lost the final match to Paulista Futebol Clube.

In 2007, Fluminense won the Copa do Brasil, after beating Figueirense in the final match, and was admitted in the Copa Libertadores again after 23 years. The club's campaign led it into the finals and included remarkable matches against Arsenal de Sarandí, São Paulo and Boca Juniors. Fluminense lost the cup to LDU Quito in a penalty shootout.

Fluminense luminous mosaic arises, by fans in Maracanã.

After signing up 27 players and going through 5 different managers in 2009, Fluminense found itself struggling to avoid another relegation from Série A. With less than one-third of the championship left, the mathematical probability of the club's relegation was of 98%. At this point, manager Cuca decided to sack some of the more experienced players and gave Fluminense's youngsters a chance. That, along with Fred's recovery from a serious injury and substantial support from the fans, allowed not only a sensational escape from relegation, but also placed Fluminense in the final of the Copa Sudamericana. For the second year in a row, the club contested a continental cup. In a repeat of the previous year's Copa Libertadores, Fluminense lost the cup to LDU Quito.

In 2010, Fluminense won the Brazilian championship for the third time in its history, marking their third national championship after 1970 and 1984). It was also the fourth title for coach Muricy Ramalho in a decade: Ramalho had won the title three times in a row with São Paulo from 2006 to 2008. Darío Conca was named the Brazilian Championship's Player of Season, while Fred and Washington were decisive players in Fluminense's winning campaign.

On May 23, 2012, Fluminense lost the semifinal qualification match to Boca Juniors from Argentina, for the continental club football cup, Copa Libertadores. Later that year, on November 11, they won their fourth Brazilian championship after defeating the near-relegated Palmeiras 3-2.

Fluminense won the Série A for the fourth time on November 11, 2012.

Performance

Fluminense has taken part in 36 of the 38 official Serie A championships organized in Brazil since 1971. Since the number of participating teams has changed considerably over time, any accurate performance measurement must take this variable into account. In the two tables below, the performance field for a given position p in a universe of n teams was calculated using the formula:

$x = \frac{n-p}{n} \times 100$

This allows for an asymptotic limit of 100%, since p will never be zero.

Year	Position	Participants	Performance	Year	Position	Participants	Performance
1971	16	20	20%	1981	11	44	75%
1972	14	26	46%	1982	5	44	89%
1973	23	40	42%	1983	18	44	59%
1974	24	40	40%	1984	1	41	98%
1975	3	42	93%	1985	22	44	50%
1976	4	54	93%	1986	6	48	87%
1977	26	62	58%	1987	7	16	56%
1978	22	74	70%	1988	3	24	87%
1979	52	94	45%	1989	15	22	32%
1980	11	44	75%	1990	15	20	25%

Year	Position	Participants	Performance	Year	Position	Participants	Performance
1991	4	20	80%	2001	3	28	89%
1992	14	20	30%	2002	4	26	85%
1993	28	32	12%	2003	19	24	21%
1994	15	24	37%	2004	9	24	62%
1995	4	24	83%	2005	5	22	77%
1996	23	24	4%	2006	15	20	25%
1997	25	26	4%	2007	4	20	80%
1998	Série B			2008	14	20	30%
1999	Série C			2009	16	20	20%
2000	3	25	88%	2010	1	20	95%
				2011	3	20

Fluminense Football Club has an average performance of 57% in Série A, with a standard deviation of 28%.

Sponsors

Companies that Fluminense Football Club currently has sponsorship deals with include:

• Unimed - It is the club's sponsor since 1999.

• Adidas - The company supplies football team kits, as well as Olympic sports equipment.

Records

Fans of Fluminense at the Maracanã

Highest attendances - Maracanã

• 1. Fluminense 0-0 Flamengo, 1963 194,603 ¹
• 2. Fluminense 3-2 Flamengo, 1969 171,599
• 3. Fluminense 1-0 Botafogo, 1971 160,000
• 4. Fluminense 0-0 Flamengo, 1976 155,116
• 5. Fluminense 1-0 Flamengo, 1984 153,520
• 6. Fluminense 1-1 Corinthians, 1976 146,043

¹: paying 177,656, a record of persons present at Maracanã stadium.

Highest means of public competition for Fluminense

• Largest average attendance in the Copa Libertadores (RJ): 52,801 (49,011 pags., 2008)
• Largest average attendance in the Copa Sudamericana (RJ): 29,357 (27,318 pags., 2009)
• Largest average attendance in international tournaments (RJ): 48,797 (37,541 pags., Copa Rio, 1952)
• Largest average attendance in national championships (RJ): 43,541 pags. (1976)
• Largest average attendance in the Tournament Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (RJ): 40,408 pags. (1970)
• Largest average attendance in the Brazil Cup (RJ): 27,123 pags. (2007)
• Largest average attendance in the Rio-São Paulo Tournament (RJ): 33,018 pags. (1960)
• Largest average attendance in the state championship: 47,814 pags. (1969, all stages)
• Largest average attendance in the state championship in the Maracana Stadium: 93,560 pags. (1969, 10 Matches)

Support

The supporters of Fluminense Football Club are usually related to the upper classes of Rio de Janeiro. However, the popularity of the club reaches beyond the city limits. Recent polls have estimated the number of supporters to be between 1.3% and 3.7% of the Brazilian population. Considering a population of 185 million people, that would account for numbers between 2.73 and 6.84 million.

The best attendance ever observed in a match of Fluminense was registered on December 15, 1963 in a rally against Flamengo. On that day, an impressive amount of 194,000 people showed up at the Maracanã stadium. This occasion remains as the stadium's record for a match between clubs.

Notable supporters of Fluminense include composers Cartola and Chico Buarque, FIFA president of honor João Havelange, musician Ivan Lins, poet and actor Mário Lago, journalist and songwriter Nelson Motta and dramatist, journalist and writer Nelson Rodrigues., 1970 FIFA World Cup winner Gérson, Paris Saint Germain's top defense player Thiago Silva, former Minister of Culture and international artist Gilberto Gil, Silvio Santos, the owner of SBT, the second largest Brazilian television network, and the Academy Award nomenee Fernanda Montenegro.

Fluminense Derbies

• Fla-Flu, also called Classic of Crowds, played with Flamengo;
• Giants' Classic, played with Vasco;
• Grandpa Derby, played with Botafogo;
• Fluminense vs. America, played with America;
• Vs Fluminense. Bangu, the Bangu Atlético Clube.

According to the file fluzao.info site, the average public paying the principal classics of Fluminense played in the Maracana Stadium is 60,107 against Flamengo, Vasco against the 43,735 of 34,359 against Botafogo of 25,127 against America and of 22,527 against Bangu, medium plus the public that these gifts could be about 20% higher, given the issues of the distribution of gratuities in the Maracana Stadium.

Corinthians vs Fluminense, the great classic interstate Fluminense

Considering the interstate clashes, the derby against Sport Club Corinthians Paulista is perhaps the most representative among the various confrontations with big Brazilian clubs played for Fluminense, given the fact that these clubs often intersect at decisive moments in their stories, either by the end Rio Cup, the direct contest in several Tournaments Rio-São Paulo since 1940, or by the qualifying rounds of the Championship or Cup of Brazil, in the great struggle of the Brazilian Football Championship 2010 when the two clubs played the title since the beginning of the championship with Corinthians having lost the Championship to Cruzeiro in the final round, as did the reverse in 2011, when the Corinthians was the champion and the Tricolor, a champion of the symbolic second round of the Brazilian, the third, with nine matches in the history of this classic provides more than 55,000 fans at Maracana stadium or the Morumbi, with an average attendance of 30,266 at the Maracana paying until August 2009.

Football

Current squad

As of July 2011.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ricardo Berna 2 DF Bruno Vieira 3 DF Gum 4 DF Leandro Euzébio 5 MF Edinho 6 DF Carlinhos 7 MF Jean 8 MF Diguinho 9 FW Fred (captain) 10 MF Thiago Neves 11 MF Wellington Nem 12 GK Diego Cavalieri 13 DF Digão 14 DF Elivelton 15 DF Anderson 16 MF Felipe 17 MF Edwin Valencia

No. Position Player 18 DF Fabían Monzón (on loan from Olympique Lyonnais) 19 MF Wágner 20 MF Deco (vice-captain) 21 FW Marcos Júnior 22 FW Rhayner 23 FW Rafael Sóbis 25 DF Wellington Silva 27 FW Michael 28 DF Wallace (on loan from Chelsea) 31 FW Samuel 32 MF Fábio Braga 33 GK Klever 34 DF Wellington Carvalho 37 MF Rafinha 38 MF Eduardo - MF Cássio - MF Lucas Patinho

Players with Dual Nationality

• Alejandro Martinuccio
• Diego Cavalieri
• Ricardo Berna
• Deco

Entries

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 16 MF Felipe (from Vasco da Gama) 18 DF Fabían Monzón (on loan from Olympique Lyonnais) 22 MF Rhayner (from Náutico)

No. Position Player 25 DF Wellington Silva (from Flamengo) 27 FW Michael (from U-20 squad) 38 MF Eduardo (from U-20 squad)

Out or on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player - GK Silezio (for the loan Sport Recife) - MF Raphael Augusto (for the loan D.C. United) - MF Tartá (for the loan Vitória) - MF Higor (for the loan Avaí)

No. Position Player - FW Rodriguinho (for the loan Portuguesa) - FW Rosicley (for the loan Ponte Preta) - FW Alejandro Martinuccio (for the loan Cruzeiro) - FW Matheus Carvalho (for the loan Joinville)

Fluminense Youth Team

U-20 team

As of June 26, 2012.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Leanderson — DF Igor Julião — DF Wellington Carvalho — DF Marquinhos — DF Fernando

No. Position Player — DF Ronan — MF Ewerton — MF Luiz Fernando — FW Caio — FW Rafael Assis

First-team staff

As of May 19, 2011.

Position	Name	Nationality
Head coach	Abel Braga	Brazilian
Assistant Coach	Leomir	Brazilian
Fitness coaches	Flávio Vignoli	Brazilian
	Jefferson Souza	Brazilian
Goalkeeping Coach	Victor Hugo	Brazilian

Titles

Intercontinental

• Copa Rio Internacional: 1 (1952)

National

• Campeonato Brasileiro: 4 (1970, 1984, 2010, 2012)

• Copa do Brasil: 1 (2007)

Regional

• Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2 (1957, 1960)
• Torneio dos Campeões Estaduais Rio-São Paulo: 1 (1919)

Local

• Campeonato Carioca: 31 (1906, 1907¹, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2012)

Notable players

The most notable players for Fluminense Football Club so far have been:

• Darío Conca
• Narciso Doval
• Ademir Menezes
• Altair
• Assis
• Batatais
• Branco
• Carlos Alberto Torres
• Castilho
• Delei
• Denílson
• Dirceu
• Didi
• Edinho
• Ézio
• Félix
• Flávio

• Fred
• Gérson
• Gil
• Hércules
• Lula
• Jair Marinho
• Manfrini
• Marcelo
• Marco Antônio
• Marcos
• Orlando
• Oswaldo Gomes
• Paulo César Caju
• Paulo Vítor
• Píndaro
• Pinheiro
• Pintinho

• Preguinho
• Renato Gaúcho
• Ricardo Gomes
• Rivelino
• Romeu
• Samarone
• Telê Santana
• Thiago Silva
• Tim
• Valdo
• Washington (1984)
• Washington (2010)
• Henry Welfare
• Romerito
• Deco
• Dejan Petkovic

Head coaches

• Ramón Platero (1919)
• Gentil Cardoso (1945–47)
• Tim (1964–67)
• Telê Santana (1969–70)
• Paulo Amaral (1970)
• Mário Zagallo (1971–72)
• Didi (1975)
• Carlos Alberto Parreira (1975–78)
• Mário Travaglini (1976–77)
• Paulo Emilio (1978)
• Nelsinho Rosa (1979–81)
• José Luiz Carbone (1983–84)
• Carlos Alberto Parreira (1984–85)
• Nelsinho Rosa (1985–86)

• José Luiz Carbone (1987)
• Paulo Emilio (1990)
• Nelsinho Rosa (1993)
• Renato Gaúcho (1996)
• José Luiz Carbone (1997–98)
• Carlos Alberto Parreira (1999–00)
• Oswaldo de Oliveira (2001–02)
• Renato Gaúcho (September 2002–July 3)
• Joel Santana (July 2003–October 3)
• Renato Gaúcho (October 2003–December 3)
• Ricardo Gomes (March 2004–August 4)
• Abel Braga (January 2005–December 5)
• Ivo Wortmann (December 2005–February 6)
• Oswaldo de Oliveira (2006)

• Antônio Lopes (August 2006–September 6)
• Paulo César Gusmão (September 2006–February 7)
• Renato Gaúcho (April 2007–August 8)
• Cuca (August 2008–October 8)
• Renê Simões (October 2008–March 9)
• Carlos Alberto Parreira (March 2009–July 9)
• Vinícius Eutrópio (July 2009)
• Renato Gaúcho (July 2009–September 9)
• Cuca (September 2009–April 10)
• Muricy Ramalho (April 2010–March 11)
• Enderson Moreira (interim) (March 2011–May 11)
• Abel Braga (June 2011–)

Statistics

Players with Most Appearances

Name		Matches
1º	Castilho	699
2º	Pinheiro	603
3º	Telê Santana	556
4º	Altair	549
5º	Escurinho	490
6º	Rubens Galaxe	462
7º	Denílson	433
8º	Assis (zagueiro)	424
9º	Waldo	403
10º	Marcão (volante)	397

Top Goalscorers

Name		Goals	Years
1º	Waldo	319	1954-1961
2º	Orlando Pingo de Ouro	188	1945-1955
3º	Telê Santana	165	1950-1961
4º	Hércules	164	1935-1942
5º	Welfare	163	1913-1923
6º	Russo	150	1933-1944
7º	Preguinho	129	1925-1939
8º	Washington	124	1983-1989
9º	Ézio	119	1991-1995
10º	Magno Alves	111	1998-2002

Coaches with Most Appearances

Name		Matches
1º	Zezé Moreira	467
2º	Ondino Vieira	300
3º	Abel Braga	202
4º	Renato Gaúcho	178
5º	Tim	166
6º	Nelsinho Rosa	156
7º	Carlos Alberto Parreira	146
8º	Sylvio Pirillo	138
9º	Luís Vinhaes	137
10º	Paulo Emílio	126

External links

• Official Website (English)
• Flickr: Fluminense Oficial's Photostream - Downloadable Fluminense Photos (English)
• Fluminense Football Club News at Sambafoot.com (English)
• Fluminense F.C. Page at Goal.com (English)
• Official Fluminense F.C. Facebook Fan Page (English)
• Fluminense F.C. Fan Page at Soccerway (English)
• Statistics on major competitions (Portuguese)
• Statistics on all matches between 1902 and 2006 (Portuguese)
• NETFLU - Hourly News about Fluminense Football Club (Portuguese)
• YOUNG FLU - Most Famous Organized Fans Fan Page (Portuguese)
• Statistics on the 2009 Série A championship (Portuguese)
• Fluminense F.C. Daily news in Portuguese (Portuguese)
• Fluminense Uruguay Fan Page (Spanish)
• Official Fluminense Football Club Page at FIFA(English)
• Fluminense Football Club Page at ESPN Global(English)
• Fluminense F.C. at Page The World Game: News,Results & Tables(English)